Irrigating the Greenhouse Crop.......

When growing anything on a large scale you have to rely on a certain level of automation to get the job done because let's face it, standing around with a hose trying to water 2 million seedlings just isn't going to cut it.

Automated irrigation boom.

At our nursery we use many automated controls within each greenhouse to provide an optimal growing environment and for the purpose of irrigating/fertilizing the trees, we operate overhead irrigation booms that make their way up and down the length of the greenhouse supplying a steady stream of water to saturate each container of seedlings.

Irrigation boom control box.

The booms can be set to run at a wide range of speeds and for as many passes up and down the greenhouse as needed. This is done using a digital control box mounted to each boom.

Each boom is mounted to an overhead trolly system that guides it up and down the length of the greenhouse and a system of sensors and magnets are placed throughout the greenhouse to tell the boom where it should start and stop.

At the base of each boom are sets of nozzles equally spaced to supply a precise misting of water over the top of the seedlings with each pass. These nozzles come in a variety of spray patterns and are also designed to deliver a precise amount of water from each spray tip so we can control how much irrigation is delivered and keep our water usage reasonable.

This system of irrigation is highly effective and allows us to water the entire crop of seedlings in just a few hours with minimal effort, giving us time to focus our attention on other tasks while being assured the trees have gotten their daily need for water.

Another great thing about this system of irrigation is that fertilizer can be injected right into the system to fertilize the trees while we irrigate and this will be the point of discussion in my next blog entry.